period 7 (1890-1945) Flashcards
how did the closing of the frontier affect american imperialism? primarily when?
it led people to want to expand beyond continental america to make money and find new opportunities
primarily late 1800s and early 1900s
who was mahan? why was he important?
an author who wrote a book on the importance of naval strength when it came to worldwide power and influence
he contributed to the idea that our army needed to be better
how did industrialization and factories encourage imperialism in the late 1800s?
colonies could provide america with natural resources, and a guaranteed market
what was the white man’s burden? when was it popular?
the idea that white people were superior to any other race, and thus had the burden of educating the other races
it was popular mostly during the late 1800s and early 1900s when america gained overseas land
explain the process of hawaii getting annexed.
queen liliuokalani ruled hawaii, and many american businessmen were involved in the hawaiian sugar business
they had a disagreement with the queen
americans then staged a coup in 1893, and raced paperwork back to washington for hawaii to be annexed
however, the presidency switched from harrison to cleveland, and cleveland ignored the annexation papers
hawaii was finally annexed in 1898 because of fears the spanish would go after their pacific possessions during the spanish american war
name an organization that opposed american imperialism
american anti-imperialist league
why did some americans believe imperialism went against american tradition and belief?
because it is what britain did to them, thus making it an action against their values. many also believed it undemocratic, as government was made to serve willing people, and yet none of those people had a choice
how was the spanish american war a turning point for america?
it marked the change from more isolationist to interventionist and solidied america’s place as a powerful global superpower
why did the united states get involved in cuba in 1898?
- trade disruption- the united states had expanding business there, and the battle between spain and cuba for cuban independence was throwing off the trade industry
- yellow journalism/concentration camps- overexaggerated headlines to catch attention and invoke emotion. this led to widespread amount of people knowing, pressuring the american people morally to help. the concentration camps that many innocent people were put in is an example of yellow journalism- it was horrid, and when spread, earned sympathy with many americans.
- independence cause- fhey were rebelling against spain for independence, and this cause spoke to many people.
- de lome letter- letter from a spanish official insulting president mckinley, which triggered nationalism
- uss maine- the uss maine ship blew up in a cuban harbor, and many people blamed the spanish. this further fanned nationalistic flames
what was the cuban situation before america got involved?
cubans were rebelling against spain for independence
what and when was the spanish american war? what treaty ended it? what were the terms of the treaty?
an 1898 battle between the united states and spain over cuban independence, with america helping cuba gain independence
the 1898 treaty of paris ended it
the terms were that cuba became independent, and spain gave america puerto rico, guam, and the philippines as colonies for money
what and when was the teller amendment?
an 1898 amendment by the united states stating that they would not attempt to colonize cuba, swearing that when the war was over, cuba would gain its independence
what and when was the platt amendment?
a 1901 amendment the united states forced cuba to put into its constitution, stating that america would be allowed to intervene if order broke down in cuba
what and when was the phillipino-american war? who were some important figures?
a war between the filipino people and the american people as the filipino people didn’t want to be ruled by america
aguinaldo- fought on behalf of filipino people
what was the main dilemma/question in regards to the people in the new american colonies?
if they were to be subject to american rule, would they receive the protection of the american constitution?
what and when were the insular cases? why were they important?
they were 1901 cases that stated that the people in the new colonies would be subject to american rule, but would not be protected by the american constitution, and would not be given american civil rights
they were important because they settled the main dilemma of how they were to be incorporated into america
what was the open door policy? what were some treaties that protected it?
the policy in the early 1900s that all of china would remain open to trade with all countries (result of european nations setting up spheres of influence, limiting chinese trade in that area)
root takahira treaty of 1908
nine power treaty of 1922
when and what was the boxer rebellion?
1899-1901 chinese rebel revolt against foreign influence
what was theodore roosevelt’s foreign policy? explain. give some examples. successful?
big stick policy- use the threat of a strong military in foreign diplomacy to achieve the upper hand
rather than outright threaten, build a strong military, so other countries are intimidated
the building of the panama canal- supporting panama’s rebellion against columbia
roosevelt corollary in 1904- threatening europe to not interfere in latin america
great white fleet- roosevelt showcasing the power of the american navy by touring it around the world
to a degree- but mostly yes
what was the panama canal? how did it get built? explain the process.
clayton bulwer treaty of 1850 gave america and britain joint control of any canal that would connect atlantic and pacific oceans
but america wanted sole control
hay pauncefort treaty 1898- gave america sole permission to build and fortify the canal
columbia didn’t want america to own it, so america sent troops to threaten columbia as panama rebelled and became an independent country
hay bunau varilla treaty 1904- panama gave america a canal zone they could build the canal on
what and when was the great rapprochement?
1895 negotiation over a disputed border that reinstated good relations between america and britain
what and when was the gentleman’s agreement? explain the whole situation.
a 1907 agreement between america and japan where japan agreed to limit japanese immigration to america and america agreed to reverse san francisco’s segregated schools policy.
san francisco had announced earlier that they were going to segregate japanese americans as well, and they would have to attend different schools. japan became extremely angry, and demanded the united states change this policy. thus, the gentleman’s agreement.
what and when was the root takahira treaty?
1908 treaty between america and japan agreeing to both leave the others pacific possessions alone, and protect the open door policy in china
what was taft’s foreign policy? explain. give some examples. successful?
dollar diplomacy- using the incentive of american trade and american money to gain the upper hand in foreign diplomacy
open door policy with china
tried to coerce nicaragua to trade with united states
no- generally was unpopular and unsuccessful
what years was mckinley president? political party?
1897-1901
republican
what years was theodore roosevelt president? political party?
1901-1909
republican
what years was taft president? political party?
1909-1913
republican
what years was wilson president? political party?
1913-1921
democrat
what years was harding president? political party?
1921-1923
republican
what years was coolidge president? political party?
1923-1929
republican
what years was hoover president? political party?
1929-1933
republican
what years was franklin d roosevelt president? political party?
1933-1945 (elected for a fourth term but died)
democrat
was years was truman president? political party?
1945-1953
democrat
what and when was the progressive movement? what were some major goals?
the progressive movement was a movement in the early 1900s to improve conditions for the working class in response to the corruption of politics, business, and the economy they also supported more government involvement in controlling big business to protect the working class from monopolies however, they also wanted to increase democracy, and increase the power of the people (essentially, empower the voice of the people to have more influence on legislation, and have the government then enforce the new rules to protect the working class, so the people and the government both have power)
what were three goals the progressive party had for state legislation specifically?
1) recall- the ability to remove an elected government official before their term ends if their practices are corrupt
2) referendum- allowing citizens to vote on proposed legislation
3) initiative- the ability to directly propose bills to state legislation by petition
what were muckrakers? name a couple important ones and what industry they are associated with.
reporters whose goal was to uncover the corruption in the government
primarily during the 1900s-1930s
ida tarbell- standard oil
upton sinclair- meatpacking industry
what and (about) when was the 17th amendment?
amendment passed in the 1910s that allowed the direct election of senators by the people rather than by state legislatures
what was the jungle? why was it important?
book published in 1906 by upton sinclair about the dirty conditions of the chicago meatpacking plants and overall industry
made many people disgusted with the unsanitary conditions, leading to reforms that would limit these corrupt/unsanitary practices
what and when was the meat inspection act?
1906 act that 1) made it illegal to sell misbranded or adulterated meat and 2) required that all livestock be slaughtered and processed under regulated sanitary conditions
what and when was the pure food and drug act?
1906 act that 1) prohibited the sale of adulterated or misbranded drugs and food and 2) created the food and drug administration to enforce those regulations
who was ida tarbell?
muckraker/journalist who exposed standard oil for being corrupt
what were “robber barrons”? who were some famous ones?
wealthy business owners who established corrupt rules to earn more money and widen the gap between the rich and the working class
(like forming corporations or trusts, or in the case of railroads, discriminating between farmers and others)
carnegie, rockefeller, j.p. morgan
explain the difference between horizontal integration and vertical integration, and name some wealthy business owners associated with each, along with their respective companies.
horizontal integration: buying companies on the same level of production to get rid of competition
vertical integration: combining all the steps of production of a single product under one company, reducing costs of manufacturing
rockefeller- horizontal, standard oil
j.p. morgan- horizontal, banking and railroad companies
carnegie- vertical, u.s. steel
why was theodore roosevelt known as the “trust buster”?
because he dissolved many trusts during his time as president
what was theodore roosevelt’s plan for social reform called? what were its main goals?
the square deal
1) control of corporations
2) consumer protection
3) conservation of natural resources
what and when was the elkins act?
1903 act that forbid railroads from giving rebates
what and when was the hepburn act?
1906 act that gave more power to the interstate commerce committee
what and when was the lochner v. new york decision?
1905 decision that struck down a law limiting the hours of bakers
what and when was the muller v. oregon decision?
a 1908 decision that upheld a law limiting the hours women could work (because of their physical limitations)
what was theodore roosevelt’s policy for dissolving trusts?
roosevelt believed that there were “bad trusts” and “good trusts”
he dissolved bad trusts- trusts that harmed commerce
why did taft and roosevelt disagree?
taft rose taxes with the 1909 payne aldrich tariff, and also destroyed the u.s. steel corporation, which roosevelt believed was a good trust.
explain how taft and roosevelt’s disagreement related to wilson becoming president.
when roosevelt and taft started opposing each other, roosevelt and his supporters split from the republican party and created the progressive party. the split of previous republicans between taft and roosevelt then gave the democrats and wilson a win.
what and when was the northern securities case?
1904 case where roosevelt dissolved a trust under the sherman anti trust act of 1890
example of him as a “trust buster”
what was the coal strike of 1902?
strike of miners against employers for higher wages
roosevelt threatened to take over the mine if the employers didn’t negotiate- the workers got higher wages
what and when was the sherman anti trust act?
1890 act that gave the government power to act against alliances that were harmful to commerce
(any alliance harmful to commerce was subject to government action)
what and when was the federal reserve act? explain the federal reserve system.
federal reserve act 1913- creates the federal reserve system
country is divided into districts, one bank for each district
controlled how much money was in circulation (money printed by Treasury, but circulation and distribution controlled by Federal Reserve System)
thus it made the currency more flexible, able to regulate inflation and deflation- increasing the currency supply leads to greater economic activity, and vice versa if inflation is too high
